Lecture 2: Theories of Developmental Psychology Flashcards
psychoanalytic theory
focuses on the development and dynamics of the personality
- people are driven by motives and emotional conflicts of which they are largely unconscious
- developed by Sigmund Freud and rewritten by Erik Erikson
learning theory
developed by Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, and Bandura
cognitive development theory
one supporter is Piaget
systems theory
explained by Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model
nature vs nurture
is development only the product of nature (biology) or also of the environment (nurture)
critical period
a specific time window in which an individual must experience a certain environmental stimulus in order to develop normally
imprinting
a phenomenon where some species of newborn animals rapidly form a strong attachment to their caregiver shortly after birth
- Lorenz and ducklings
sensitive period
a time period in which an individual is particularly able to acquire as well as develop new skills
activity vs passivity
the extent to which people are active in creating and influencing their own environment and their own development
continuity vs discontinuity
are the changes people undergo gradual or abrupt
universality vs context
the extent to which developmental changes are the same for all people (universal) or different in cultures, tasks and individuals (context specific)
psychosexual phases
- oral phase
- anal phase
- phallic phase
- latent phase
- genital phase
oral phase
- birth - 1 year
- the libido is focused on the mouth as a source of pleasure
- oral gratification from mother figure
- fixation leads to thumb-sucking, chain-smoking, and over-dependence on others
anal phase
- 1 year - 3 years
- libido is focused on the anus
- potty training creates a conflict between biological urges and the demands of society
- fixation leads to fear and turning away from authorities
phallic phase
- 3 years to 6 years
- the libido is focused on the genitals
- resolution of the Oepidus (in boys) or Electra complex (in girls) leads to identification with the same-sex parent and development of the superego
- Oepidus and Electra complex is the lust for the parent of the opposite sex
latent phase
- 6 years to 12 years
- the libido remains quiet
- child’s energy goes to school and playing with friends of the same sex
genital phase
- 12 years and older
- puberty awakens the sexual instincts, when young people want to enter into an adult sexual relationship and fulfill the biological goal of reproduction
repression
the removal of unacceptable or traumatic thoughts/memories from the conscious mind
- can result in having no memory at all of a traumatic event
regression
falling back to an earlier and less traumatic phase of development
Erik Erikson
- like Freud, researched personality dynamics and also assumed developmental stages
- however, placed less emphasis on sexual drives and more emphasis on social influences
psychosocial stages
- trust vs distrust
- autonomy vs shame and doubt
- initiative vs regret
- industry vs inferiority
- identity vs role confusion
- intimacy vs isolation
- generativity vs stagnation
- integrity vs despair
trust vs distrust
- birth to 1 year
- babies must learn to trust their carers to meet their needs
- responsive parenting is necessary, if failing to do this, children will distrust others
autonomy vs shame and doubt
- 1 year to 3 years
- children must learn to be autonomous
- must learn to know their own will and do things for themselves
- when this fails, they will doubt their abilities
initiative vs regret
- 3 years to 6 years
- pre-school children develop initiative by thinking up and executing grand plans
- have to learn not to let this clash with the rights of other people
industry vs inferiority
- 6 years to 12 years
- children need to acquire important social and academic skills and keep up with their peers
- if this fails, they will feel inferior
identity vs role confusion
- 12 years to 20 years
- adolescents wonder who they are, and they need to acquire social and academic identities
- otherwise they will remain confused about the role they should have as adults
- Erikson sees adolescence as a period of identity crisis
intimacy vs isolation
- 20 years to 40 years
- young adults seek some form of shared identity with another person
- may fear intimacy and be lonely and isolated
generativity vs stagnation
- 40 years to 65 years
- adults need to feel that they are doing something for society/next generation
- otherwise they get stuck and become self-centered
integrity vs despair
- 65+ years
- older adults should see their lives as meaningful when faced with death
- should not have worries and regrets
Watson’s behaviorism
- based on the conviction that you should make conclusions about human development on the basis of behavioral observation and not on the basis of unconscious cognitive and emotional processes
- thus rejected psychoanalytic theory
classical conditioning
a simple form of learning in which a stimulus has no effect on the individual until it is associated with something positive or negative
- Little Albert
operant conditioning
the learned behavior comes from the consequences that the behavior has
- you associate the behavior you exhibit with the positive or negative consequences that result form your behavior
extinction
when behavior becomes less frequent due to lack of reinforcement of behavior
positive approach vs punishment
people learn better from positive approaches than from punishment, so using a positive approach is most effective
physical punishment
- mild physical punishment can be effective in changing behavior when it is done immediately after the act (not a few hours later)
- has to be consistent, not too harsh, explained, and by an otherwise warm person and if acceptable behavior is reinforced
- has been linked to increased aggression, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse
social cognitive theory
humans are cognitive beings that process information consciously; plays a critical role in learning, behavior, and development
observational learning
people learn by observing the behavior of others
- emphasized by Bandura
- Bobo doll study
latent learning
a learning process in which you also learn from the punishments and rewards that others receive for their behavior
- you have not performed the behavior and received no punishment/reward, but you have seen this in someone else
over-imitation
children imitate everything they see an adult doing, even if it has nothing to do with achieving their own goals
self-efficacy
a person’s belief in themselves to complete a task or achieve a goal
- Bandura believed people played an active role in their own development
reciprocal determinism
human development occurs through a continuous reciprocal interaction between the person, their behavior, and environment
constructivism
children construct their own world based on their own understanding and interactions
- supperted by Piaget
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
- sensory-motor phase
- pre-operational phase
- concrete-operational phase
- formal-operational phase
sensory-motor phase
- birth to 2 years
- children use their senses and motor skills to understand the world
- at first they only have innate reflexes, but they develop intelligent actions
- eventually they can think of solutions through symbols thus plan solutions mentally
pre-operational phase
- 2 years to 7 years
- pre-school children use their capacity for symbolic thinking to develop language, participate in fantasy games, and solve problems
- their thinking is not yet logical, but egocentric
- they are easily fooled by perceptions, and they do not yet think based on logical reasoning, thus unable to solve conservation problems
concrete-operational phase
- 7 years to 11 years
- school children acquire concrete and logical reasoning that allows them to think mentally about objects
- they can solve practical and real life problems through trial and error, but they have difficulty with hypothetical and abstract problems
formal-operational phase
- 11 years to 12+ years
- adolescents can think about abstract concepts and purely hypothetical situations
- with age and experience, they can think up consequences for behavior, they can devise hypotheses and test them very systematically
sociocultural perspective
Vygotsky disagrees with the universal stages of development of Piaget and puts forward a theory that is shaped by the social and cultural context in which a child grows up
- each culture provides different skills (like language) which leads to a different way of thinking
information processing approach
this compares the human brain to a computer that has hardware and software
- it involves basic mental processes such as attention, memory, making choices and cognitive tasks
Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model
consists of 4 environmental systems, and describes how the environment is organized and how it influences development
- microsystem
- meso-system
- exosystem
- macrosystem
microsystem
an immediate physical and social environment in which the person interacts face-to-face with people
- primary microsystem is the family, the nursery or the group of friends
- important for the child’s development
meso-system
interrelationships between 2 or more microsystems
- children who experience problems in one microsystem (home situation) also show problems in another microsystem (school)
exosystem
social settings that the inidvidual does not experience directly but which still influence their development
- children are influenced by their parents’ work stess, by how strong the parents’ support network is, or by the environment in which they live
macrosystem
the larger cultural context of which the micro, meso, and exosystem are a part
- it concerns cultural values, laws, political and economic systems, and institutions
the chronosystem
assumes that the relationship between people and their environment changes over time
- developed by Bronfenbrenner
proximal processes
reciprocal, recurrent interactions between the individual and other people, objects and symbols that lead to more effective functioning
- a proximal process in the microsystem family could be reading a story every evening, promoting language development
PPCT model
Bronfenbrenner and Morris argue that if you want to understand development, you have to investigate it according to the PPCT model: process, person, context, and time, rather than just comparing children across different social addresses (culture and SES)
psychoanalytic theory of Freud
(in perspective)
- purpose: biologically-based sexual instincts motivate our behavior and guide development through five psychosocial stages
- nature or nurture: it is more nature, biology shapes development, but early experiences in the family also influence development
- active or passive: passive, you are influenced by forces beyond your control
- continuous or discontinuous: discontinuous, there are phases
- universal or context specific: universal
psychoanalytic theory by Erikson
(in perspective)
- goal: people grow through eight psychosocial conflicts
- nature or nurture: interaction, equal measure of nature and nurture
- active or passive: active
- continuous or discontinuous: discontinuous, there are phases
- universal or context specific: universal, but the phases may be different across cultures
learning theory by Skinner
(in perspective)
- objective: development is the product of learning the consequences of behavior through operant conditioning
- nature or nurture: especially nurture
- active or passive: passive, people are shaped by the environment
- continuous or discontinuous: continuous, habits gradually increase or decrease in strength
- universal or context specific: context specific because the direction of development depends on experience
lerarning theory by Bandura
(in perspective)
- purpose: development is the product of cognition, as illustrated by observational learning and over-imitation (‘human agency’)
- nature or nurture: more nurture
- active or passive: active, people influence their own environment
- continuous or discontinuous: continuous
- universal or context specific: context specific
cognitive development theory
(in perspective)
- goal: development goes through four stages of cognitive development
- nature or nurture: interaction, and becoming an adult go hand in hand with gaining experiences
- active or passive: active
- continuous or discontinuous: discontinuous, there are phases
- universal or context specific: universal
ecological systems theory
(in perspective)
- goal: development can go in many different directions, depending on transactions between the changing person and the changing environment
- nature or nurture: nature and nurture influence eachother
- active or passive: active
- continuous or discontinuous: both
- universal or context specific: context specific
gene-environment interaction
the effect of our genes depends on the environment we experience; how we respond to our environment depends on our genes
diathesis-distress model
a disorder is the result of an interaction between the predispositions or vulnerabilities that a person has (genes) and the experiences of stressful events
differential sensitivity hypothesis
genes make some people more reactive than others to certain environmental influences (both good and bad)
gene-environment correlations
an interaction states that people with different genes react differently to experiences, whereas gene-environment correlation states that people with different genes seek out different experiences
passive correlation
parents pass on to their children both genes and a home environment that is linked to their own genes, so there is a correlation between the genes and the environment
- social parents not only pass on social genes, but also have a social household (parties)
evocative correlation
the genotype of a child provokes reactions from other people
- a smiling and social baby gets more hugs than a shy one
- the social child is invited to more parties and gets better working relationships
active correlation
the genotype of children influences the environment they seek
- if a child is extroverted, they seek out parties
epigenesis
a general process in which nature and nurture influence each other to promote development
epigenetic effects
ways in which environmental factors influence the expression of genes
Havighurst’s theory of developmental tasks
several developmental tasks in middle adulthood (40-65):
- achieving civic and social responsibility
- achieving and maintaining economic standards
- helping your children to become responsible and happy adults
- developing adult hobbies
- being able to relate to your spouse
- accepting and adapting to the physiological changes you are going through
- adapting yourself to your ageing parents
social clock model
the normative timetable of the culture leads to the life planning and personal goals of individuals in this culture
- people compare themselves to others, and based on this they create a timetable for their lives
MacArtur model successful aging
states there are different ways of ageing
- normal ageing: normal age-related decline in physical, social, and cognitive functioning
- successful ageing: age-related decline in functioning is minized and there is an active engagement with life
Baltes’ Selection-Optimization-Compensation model
successful ageing = SOC
- S = selection: selecting achieveable and important goals
- O = optimization: to optimize/improve what is difficult
- C = compensation: compensating for what is no longer feasible, such as buying a walking stick if it is no longer possible to walk independently
Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST)
motivation priorities shift across the life span as a function of future time horizons
- elderly people pay more attention to, remember better, and place more emphasis on positive than negative information
